Jorge Lorenzo: Valentino Rossi not part of GOAT debate if Marc Marquez wins 2026 title

Three-time MotoGP champion Jorge Lorenzo says Valentino Rossi won’t factor into the GOAT debate if Marc Marquez wins his eighth premier class title this season.

Marquez holds a 60-point lead in the standings following a win and second-place finish last weekend at the Qatar Grand Prix.

He goes to next week’s Portuguese Grand Prix needing only to win the sprint to secure this year’s world title.

Should he win, he will move into second all-time level with Giacomo Agostini on eight MotoGP titles, and surpass Valentino Rossi’s tally of nine championships across all classes.

“Rossi doesn’t join them at the table”

An eighth world title, especially given the circumstances around his injuries and the 102-point deficit he closed down in 2026, will intensify the debate surrounding who the greatest rider of all time is.

Lorenzo, speaking with TNT Sports last weekend in Qatar, believes, however, that only Marquez - if he wins the title - and Agostini can claim that title, with Rossi not a factor in this debate.

“I think a real debate will arise about whether Marquez or Agostini are the greatest of all time,” former Yamaha, Ducati and Honda rider Lorenzo said.

“For me, if he wins this tenth world title, he will undoubtedly be the greatest of the modern era. Rossi doesn't join them at that table.”

He added: “I think Marc was stronger last year, before Mandalika's injury.

“That crash weakened him physically, and this year he's struggled to maintain his form, but he's made up for it with pure technique.

“For me, in terms of technique and riding, he's the best ever.”

GOAT debate comes as Rossi continues to hit out at Marquez

Lorenzo’s opinion on this matter is somewhat shaped by his intense rivalry with Rossi over the years when they were team-mates at Yamaha.

In the early days, Rossi had a wall erected in the Yamaha garage to stop secrets from spilling out between both sides.

Lorenzo’s final world title came in 2015, at the end of a controversial campaign following Rossi’s claims that Marquez was trying to sabotage his championship challenge.

It’s a position Rossi has not moved on from in the decade since, with the Italian recently re-opening that wound during a TV appearance promoting his new book.

“He was only fighting to make me lose, and in the end, he succeeded,” he said.

“That’s something that really doesn’t go away - it still stings.

“More than 10 years have passed, but the feeling and my state of mind when I think about it are the same as they were on that night in Valencia, and that worries me a little.

“But often I look in the mirror and tell myself, ‘Man, let’s not focus on that one loss but maybe on the others.”